The News Roundup is a regular feature of the blog where we select news articles from various sources around the web, with the goal of providing an overview of the weekly conversation about the countries where MCC works in the region. Quotes in italics are drawn directly from sources and do not necessarily reflect the position of MCC.
Fracking, mining, murder: the killer agenda driving migration in Mexico and Central America
This isn’t a conspiracy theory, and this hypothesis is not mine alone. Data indicatesthat in resource-rich countries, the concurrence of forced displacement with criminal, misogynistic and political violence cannot be a coincidence. This killer combination reflects a policy of forced depopulation aimed at obtaining “conflict-free” exploitation of natural resources that are increasingly valuable in the modern global economy, such as minerals used by new technologies and renewable or clean energy sources. To execute this strategy, a variety of armed actors, including drug traffickers and gang members but also mercenary killers, security guards and “sicarios” – in Mexico and Central America are selling their killing expertise to powerful entities, from repressive governments to transnational corporations (or both, working together). Cameroonian philosopher Achille Mbembe has called this phenomenon Private Indirect Government.
How Will Trump’s Pick for US Homeland Security Chief Impact LatAm?
Senior Associate at the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) Adam Isacson told InSight Crime that “Kelly understands that violence is a big driver of migration,” and that he doubts the retired general will share Trump’s support for aggressive deportation. Kelly’s stance therefore suggests that he would be keener to tackle root causes of migration than aggressively tackle its consequences. Now that he has Trump’s ear, he could try to moderate the future president’s approach to regional migration. Alternatively, he may clash with Trump along with numerous other hardliners set to occupy top government positions. Nevertheless, Kelly’s opinion on other matters may be a cause for concern. The retired general has warned on multiple occasions that Latin America could be a gateway for terrorists to infiltrate the United States.
‘Hope is finished’: Thousands of Haitians trying to get to U.S. stranded in Tijuana
Close to 5,000 Haitians managed to make it all the way to Tijuana, at the Mexico-U.S. border. But then in September the U.S. reversed the policyand said it would resume “removing” Haitian nationals, claiming that conditions in Haiti had improved. Those who feared persecution back home could apply for asylum. After making the long, difficult trek, Haitians now showing up at the border without proper documentation could be detained or deported. Many liken it to being invited to someone’s home, then getting arrested as soon as you enter. With Donald Trump in the White House, getting into the U.S. — legally or illegally — will probably be even tougher, says René Jean-Baptiste.
Mexico: Neither Pax Mafiosa, nor rule of law
As I have argued before, this situation can be resolved by filling institutional vacuums with at least three types of auditing and investigative controls, instituted separately through the legislative, judiciary and executive branches. This is to ensure that politicians cannot finance their campaigns and public debt with dirty money, thus aborting a future democracy. The vacuum of these three types of financial and economic controls at present subsidise a highly enriched political class living the high life in US and European private mansions bought with undeclared money.
Guatemala’s indigenous water protectors organize to challenge hydroelectric projects
Thousands of indigenous Q’eqchi, Achí and Pomcomchí Mayas took part in a series of protests on October 17 against hydroelectric projects along the Cahabón River in the Guatemalan department of Alta Verapaz. The simultaneous protests, which took place in Guatemala City and the municipality of San Pedro Carcha, aimed to force the government’s hand over a delayed consultation on the project in Santa María Cahabón. “[The company] entered [our community] without advising anyone,” said Bernado Caal Xol, one of the organizers of the movement against the hydro project. “We filed this complaint in order that they inform us, and consult us about the project.”
Guatemala at a Crossroads: Reinforce the Fight Against Corruption or Reinstate the Hidden Powers?
One year after Guatemala was shaken by massive public protests demanding an end to widespread impunity and corruption, the country embarked on an unprecedented process to carry out fundamental justice reforms. In October 2016, after months of regional discussions among a wide range of sectors, a draft constitutional reform bill was presented to the Guatemalan Congress for consideration. The amendments aim to solidify the progress achieved thus far in the fight against impunity and create the conditions for the consolidation of the rule of law. Regrettably, securing passage of these necessary reforms has proven problematic. Despite the support of many within Guatemalan civil society, the Congress failed to gather the votes necessary to pass the reforms before the end of the regular session. To move forward, the bill would have to be taken-up when the Congress reconvenes next year—under new leadership viewed by many as antagonistic to a reform agenda. Guatemala must now decide between deepening its efforts against impunity and corruption, or the reinstatement of control by the “Hidden Powers,” profit-orientated criminal groups with influence or entrenched in the country’s institutions.
Rebounding from Hurricane Otto in Nicaragua’s Most Ecologically Sensitive Rainforests
Although primary forest obligate wildlife species, especially birds and bats, may suffer in the short-term after Hurricane Otto, we are optimistic that Indio Maíz will remain a core area for a host of threatened, endangered and emblematic species. Based on studies that looked at past hurricanes in Nicaragua, it seems that we can expect that within five years, Indio Maíz’s canopy will once again close completely and the understory will become “as dark as in a primary forest” (Vandermeer et al. 1996). Hurricanes have caused a cycle of destruction and regrowth that have historically shaped the Caribbean forests of Central America. Some researchers have even proposed the theory that hurricanes help preserve biodiversity in forests. That means that Hurricane Otto in and of itself is not the death of Indio Maíz. In fact, if authorities work with local people to prohibit salvage logging and prevent the colonization of the reserve and its permanent conversion to cattle pasture, Hurricane Otto will instead mark a type of rebirth for this critical cog in the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor.
Exclusive: US objections could kill $209 million Honduras deal
According to IHS Jane’s Defense Weekly, the contracts with Israel – valued at $209 million – include the refurbishment of the Honduran Air Force’s entire helicopter fleet, as well as many of its fixedwing aircraft. These include US-made F-5 and A-37 jets and Bell UH-1 Hughes 500 “Huey” helicopters. And that is what may become an issue for Washington, and what – according to one diplomatic source – “throws a wrench into what otherwise sounds like a simple deal.” The US stopped most of its assistance to the Honduran Air Force in 2014, after one of Hernandez’s first acts as president was to get the “Law of Aerial Exclusion” passed. This law authorizes the air force to shoot down suspected drug planes flying through Honduran airspace, something the US considers a violation of the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation.
Native Waters, Native Warriors: From Standing Rock to Honduras
COPINH founder and leader Berta Cáceres was slain this past March by the Honduran government and an internationally financed dam company, with at least implicit backing from the US government, which funds the Honduran military. More than 90 additional COPINH members have been killed, and another 90 or so permanently injured, over the group’s 23-year history, according to Lenca Indigenous coordinator Tomás Gomez. Gomez himself has survived three assassination attempts and been beaten by soldiers twice since March. The Standing Rock Sioux and the Lenca, moreover, each claim one of the greatest leaders for Native autonomy and territory in their country. Sitting Bull (c. 1831-90) and Lempira (d. 1537) were powerful spiritual and military leaders who fought back conquest by Americans and Spanish, respectively.
Food crisis looming in Haiti as aid slow to reach Hurricane Matthew’s victims
According to the UN, 1.4 million Haitians have been directly affected, including some 175,000 internally displaced people who have been living in about 307 temporary shelters, including nearly a hundred schools. At least 1,000 people are believed to have died. Particularly hard hit were those living in cities such as Jérémie, where 145mph winds levelled not just 80% of buildings but uprooted trees and stripped vegetation from what was once a lush green skyline. For now, however, the major concern is of a looming food crisis if crops destroyed by the hurricane – in a region once regarded as Haiti’s bread basket – are not replanted.
The Nobel Interview: Juan Manuel Santos (video)
Without broad support for the plan, and with many critics questioning the peace process envisioned by Santos, the Nobel peace laureate now faces what is perhaps his greatest challenge: implementing peace in Colombia. “I have a vision for my country that I am trying to make reality … I want a Colombia with three pillars: Colombian peace, Colombia with more equity, and better educated … You have to consolidate peace through education … I understand people who have suffered so much and are still angry, but slowly you have to learn how to forgive and how to reconcile,” Santos says. Will he be able to bring peace to Colombia? How can he prevent a divided Colombia? And how do Colombians feel about the Nobel Peace Prize? Al Jazeera’s James Bays and Folly Bah Thibault talk to Colombian president and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Juan Manuel Santos, about the issues behind the peace deal, his vision for the country and the challenges ahead.
Bolivia’s abandoned ski resort: A sign of droughts to come?
Chacaltaya glacier:
- Thought to be 18,000 years old
- Bolivian scientists started measuring it in the 1990s
- They predicted in 2005 that it would survive until 2015
- But it shrank faster than expected and had vanished almost completely by 2009
- Scientists think that the speed of its melting is an indicator of climate change
What used to be a buzzing attraction for La Paz’s middle class is now a mini ghost town of oxidized ski winches, a spooky cafe and an eerie bar, still festooned with the holiday snaps of early-1990s skiers clad in multi-coloured jumpsuits.